SHIFTING BACK IN GEAR:After smashing Cal 30-3 thanks to Joe McKnight's 119 yards and a revitalized defense, the Trojans head into their bye week with two week to prepare for Nortre Dame on the road.Â

Trojans are ranked No. 7 after a 30-3 demolition of Cal

By Jason LewisSentinel Staff Writer

Either the USC Trojans are really that good and the loss at Washington was just a bump in the road, or the California Bears are really that bad. It might be a little of both.

USC was able to further distance themselves away from the Washington loss by beating Cal up and down the field from the start. The Trojans were sitting on a 30-0 fourth quarter lead before Cal decided to trot their kicker out to avoid being shut out.

Cal was totally outclassed for a second week in a row as USC racked up 457 yards to the Bears 285.

USC has outscored their last two opponents by a score of 57-9, and they took shutouts into the fourth quarter of both games.

Cal, on the other hand, had been blasted the last two games by a score of 72-6. The Bears were ranked as high as No. 6 before getting their doors blown off in back to back weeks. They were supposed to compete for a national title, but like every other year that they are highly ranked, they fell flat out their faces.

As for USC, it looks like they are back in the national title picture. Chances are there will be a one-loss team in the BCS National Championship game. The Trojans are ranked No. 7 at the moment. If they win out they will climb up the rankings, and an argument will be made that there only loss will be in a let down game, against their former offensive and defensive coordinators who know all of their plays, and they were without the quarterback and top defensive player (Taylor Mayes sat out the game with a knee injury.)

By the time USC plays Oregon, the Ducks may be in the top 10. A win there would give USC two wins over two top 10 opponents. If Stanford continues to win they will be ranked by the time USC plays them. A Trojan win there will give USC wins over four ranked opponents.

Florida, Alabama, and LSU are all in front of USC, but two of them should fall below the Trojans. No. 1 Florida plays No. 4 LSU this Saturday. The loser will fall below USC. LSU will play No. 3 Alabama next month, and chances are two of those three teams will meet for the SEC Championship game.

No. 2 Texas has No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Kansas, No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 24 Missouri, and they will more than likely have to play one of those teams again if they make it to the Big 12 Championship game. Chances are that they will have a loss or two.

No. 5 Virginia Tech has one loss, and No. 6 Boise State is undefeated. If USC wins out there is no way the BCS is going to take a one loss Virginia Tech or undefeated Boise State over a one loss USC.

The national title picture is far from being settled, but we do know that USC is still right there in the mix. If they win out the pieces should fall into place for them to be playing in the BCS title game.